Ad rates up 150% for IPL final leg

By

Leena Mulchandani

, ET Bureau|

May 22, 2009, 07.25 AM IST

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MUMBAI: With the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) coming to a climax, advertising rates for the two semi-finals and the final have sky-rocketed as these are expected to attract large audiences. Multi Screen Media (MSM), the official broadcaster for the tournament in India, is charging Rs 10 lakh for ten-second spots for the last three matches.

This amounts to almost a 150% premium over the usual rate for the IPL. When the tournament kicked-off, ten-second spots were available for Rs 3-4 lakh.

���Ad spots for the semi-finals and the finals have sold for almost Rs 10 lakh and we���ve sold out the entire available inventory,��� says Rohit Gupta, president (network sales), MSM. Last year 10-second spots for the semi-finals and the finals were sold for Rs 8 lakh. The final of the first season garnered a rating of 9.8 TVR, the highest for the tournament.

MSM has been able to command a big premium on the last three matches on account of the large audiences they will attract and also because it had held back only 10-15 % of the inventory . The total commercial time available is 2,600 seconds per match. ���These spots are going for a premium but they add little to the total revenues from the tournament because we had little inventory left to be sold. There are only 2-3 big deals we can do at this rate,��� says Mr Gupta.

With the average rating of the second season being lower than that of the first, media buyers believe that spots at this higher rate will appeal to only certain specific advertisers. ���IPL-2 was sold at a huge premium when compared to the first season,��� says Shubha George, managing director of Mediaedge:cia, a part of GroupM India. ���Given that and the lower-than-expected ratings, a further premium for the semi-finals and final makes them a heart over mind decision. Having said that there are advertisers who buy with the heart and Sony will use that to advantage.���

For advertisers who want instant reach, it will be an opportunity. ���For brands that appeal to men and want to reach a large audience, paying a premium for these matches is a good idea. Most of our clients are already on the IPL as they see good value in advertising in the tournament,��� says Ambika Srivastava , CEO, ZenithOptimedia.

MSM has paid Board of Control for Cricket in India about Rs 4,920 crore for the nine-year telecast rights of the IPL in India. The global telecast rights were sold to World Sport Group for Rs 8,200 crore for nine years.

Meanwhile, on the back of the IPL, Sony Entertainment Television has revamped it programming to appeal to a younger mindset. The channel has lined up seven new fiction and non-fiction shows, including 10 Ka Dum 2 which will see the return of Salman Khan as television host.

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